However, for many Canadians the tournament was a major disappointment. It was the first time since 2001 thatCanadadid not participate in the gold medal game, and as it was in a tournament that supposedly only matters to Canadians, this is not a good thing.

What hurt the Canadians early on was the loss of big power-forward Devante Smith-Pelly, who had to take an early exit from the tournament after suffering a fractured foot in the first game of the tournament. However, the team’s overall indiscipline throughout the tournament is what really cost the junior team a chance for gold.

TeamCanadaaveraged just below six minor penalties per game and had the highest total of penalty minutes of the tournament with 115. This lack of discipline was especially obvious during the game of the tournament:CanadaagainstRussia. During that game, the Canadian club dug themselves into a 6-1 hole going into the third period, two of those Russian goals coming off the powerplay.Canadadid mount a miracle comeback, scoring four goals in the third period, but it was too little too late. During that game,Canadaaccumulated a whopping 45 minutes of penalties, highlighted by Oshawa Generals forward Boone Jenner’s ejection for spearing an opponent in the second period.

Sweden avenges Canada

In the gold medal game, which pittedSwedenagainstRussia, the Swedes made millions of Canadians happy by beating the Russians in thrilling fashion, with Ottawa Senators prospect Mika Zibanejad scoring the game’s only goal in overtime.

Swedendominated the game, managing 58 shots on net while allowing only 17 on their own goaltender. Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov was the only reason that his team had a chance to win, asRussiaonly managed a grand total of four shots on net after the first two periods of play.

Summary of the Tournament

Despite the disappointment of not winning gold, our Canadian team performed admirably in the tournament; and let’s face it, 14 straight years with a medal is still an impressive streak. All that’s left to do now is either drink in celebration of the bronze, or drink until we forget that we didn’t get the gold…

Mr. Tebow as a quarterback is really not impressive. As an athlete he is extremely impressive considering his strength, size and agility, but those are not key attributes to being a successful quarterback in the NFL. His regular season rating falls at 75.1, which for those who don’t know much about ratings are very low. He rarely finishes a game above 50% in completions, which is quite sad considering he’s not even throwing nearly as much as many QB’s around the league.

The one fact that even Tim Tebow’s biggest haters cannot deny is that Tim Tebow finds ways to win. The term “Tebow Time” was not created for any reason. When there is a close game on the line with little time left he often finds ways to score. This weekly occurrence became so familiar for the Broncos after a couple of his last minute wins that the team started to game plan around keeping the games close until the end so Tebow could go to work and make the opponents nervous. Even though I am not a very big Tim Tebow fan, even I can’t deny his ability to win games.

The final area for criticism about this religious man is his self. We all know he has “the pose” which has become his sign of recognition amongst the public. Some may dislike him because he is extremely religious, compared to the average person, but some may like him because he introduces a new genre of athlete in the NFL. He was recently votedAmerica’s favourite athlete, which is not a huge surprise, considering the amount of publicity he has been receiving over this season.

The most discussed athlete this season has been Tim Tebow, without a doubt. The reason is still a mystery to me, because there are many rookie quarterbacks putting up better stats and ratings and many veteran quarterbacks breaking records. This being said, Tebow is now viewed asAmerica’s golden boy and he has become the ideal role model. The fact that he does not possess great quarterback skills is practically invisible to many people because the big stat (wins/loses) is getting him a lot of publicity and recognition. Whether you are a fan of him or not, there is most definitely one thing everyone can agree upon; Tim Tebow knows how to win, and is the most prominent reason the Broncos have made it pass the first round in the playoffs.

The Bishop’s Men’s Hockey club took to the ice on Saturday night in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the W.B. Scott Arena. The men did not disappoint, putting on a great show for the fans, putting up 7 goals to beat McMaster with a final score of 7-3.

Before hitting home ice on Saturday, the team traveled to Brockville to compete in the Ninth Annual St. Lawrence College River Dogs Men’s Hockey Tournament on Thursday and Friday.

Led by head coach Kevin Gagnon, assistant coaches Tim Steele Moore, Andrew Manouk, and Matt Purdy, as well as trainer Roberto Menezes, the men faced off against Sudbury’s College Boreal for their first game on Thursday. The men finished the first period with a 1-1 tie. Gagnon stepped in with a new game plan for the team, leading Bishop’s to a huge recovery, outshooting Boreal 35-10 and finishing with a 6-1 win.

Bishop’s went on to play McMaster in their second game of the tournament. Leading 1-0 until the final minutes of the game, McMaster put away a bouncing puck in front of the BU net to tie the score.

The game went to a four-man shootout to determine the win. Gagnon had Justin Taylor shoot first with Chris Mathews, Mike Dube and Luke Armstrong following. A goal from Mathews and a game winning five-hole shot from Armstrong secured the win for BU.

In the deciding game for first place in their division, Bishop’s went up against Humber College on Friday afternoon. Despite outshooting them 22-10, the Gaiters ended their tournament with a 2-1 loss.

“The boys played defensively stellar; all the guys were definitely on board with the game plan”, said Gagnon.

Upon their return to Lennoxville, the Gaiters matched up for the second time against the tournament winner, McMaster, at the W.B. Scott Arena.

The Gaiters produced a great turnout thanks to the efforts of Devin Maule who organized the event for the team.

“The fans were awesome. I was surprised by the great turnout and extremely happy with the enthusiasm for hockey shown by the school.”

Bishop’s dominated the game with two goals from Squire and Mathews, and singles from Armstrong and Fendler, leading the team to a healthy 6-1 score. McMaster showed with a valiant final effort in the last minutes with two fast goals but was unable to make any real comeback. Bishop’s sealed the win with first-year Sean Bacon’s goal, making the final score 7-3.

“All in all it was a huge success, I was nervous going into it. We went into Brockville not knowing what the others teams were going to be like. For playing together for the first time, they adapted quickly and gelled well as a team while sticking to the game plan. I’m proud of what we accomplished this past weekend”, said Gagnon about the team’s overall weekend performance.

Along with Saturday’s game, Maule also put together an opportunity for local elementary school children to come out Sunday morning for a skate with the BU players after a third match up against McMaster.

After a 5-2 win on Sunday morning, the Gaiters stayed on the ice for a skate with the local children. Even the BU mascot participated in the event.

Gagnon noted, “The kids were really excited; they were even asking the guys for autographs.”

After an exciting debut, the team will be working hard to pose as an even bigger threat in February’s tournament taking place in Brantford, Ont.

During the holidays the Gaiters had a few games as well as a tournament hosted by the Citadins de Montreal. Unfortunately for the Gaiters they were unable to get any wins over the break and return to the floor with a 0-4 record.

Two games into the New Year and their record has still not improved. The Gaiters are now in a dire situation. They are at the bottom of the rankings with a 0-6 record. If they want a shot at the playoffs this year a lot of work has to be done, not to mention what will have to be a near perfect second-half of the season.

Before Christmas the men had a tough few games against McGill, UQAM, Laval and Concordia which all resulted in a loss. Their toughest competitor this year has been Laval being one of two teams to achieve victory with a spread of more than twenty points. Otherwise their games have ended with scores that are very often no higher than a fifteen point deficit.

The ladies have fared a little better than the men but not by much. Their record is 2-4 putting them in the fourth spot above UQAM. The past two games ended up in losses against UQAM and McGill. They did, however, manage to get one win during the Windsor Holiday classic tournament against Ryerson.

This Friday will be a double header starting at 6pm for the girls and 8pm for the guys. They will be facing the Citadins of UQAM. Both the guys and the girls have suffered a recent loss to the Citadins and are looking for retribution. Come show your support for your Gaiters Basketball teams this Friday night.

Caron was considered by many who knew him to be one of the most eccentric managers in league history. He absolutely despised the Maple Leafs, as they would always beat his Blues in the playoffs. During one game in the formerMapleLeafGardens, Caron was in the press box, supporting his Blues, when he was asked to calm down by the public relations chief, Bob Stellick, after he threw a chair. The 5-foot-7 Caron promptly challenged Stellick to a fist-fight.

In a 1990 interview with the Globe & Mail’s David Shoalts, Caron said “I’m intense, but I’m not tense. You can’t wind yourself too tightly. I let my emotions out. I’m not going to get ulcers. I’m going to give them.”

And give them he did, especially toMontrealfans. Indeed, he will always be remembered in Habs lore as the guy who dropped the ball on Denis Savard. During the 1980 NHL draft, Caron pulled the trigger on drafting Doug Wickenheiser, touted as the best junior player in Canada, with the first overall pick, missing out on French-speaking Savard (yes, that was important even in the 80’s), who went on to have a stellar career in Chicago, accumulating 1,338 points in his NHL career. Wickenheiser had 276 points.

Then again, the Habs should have seen this coming. While Caron was the head scout for the St-Flanel in 1977, he convinced GM Sam Pollock to draft Mark Napier with the 10^th overall pick despite the pleadings of the head scout forQuebec for them to draft Mike Bossy, who eventually landed with the Islanders. Apparently Caron’s argument was that Bossy “can’t play in Sherbrooke,” which turned out to be a good thing, since Sherbrooke doesn’t have an NHL franchise… yet.

Despite these shortcomings inMontreal, Caron did make it into the history books, although not as glamorously as one could hope. During his tenure as general manager for the St. Louis Blues in the early 1990’s, Caron became the first GM to sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet (the free agent being Scott Stevens), giving up five first round picks as compensation and shocking the hockey world. The next year, he signed Brendan Shanahan, another restricted free agent, from the New Jersey Devils, and Stevens was awarded toNew Jerseyin compensation.

But what “The Professor” will truly be remembered for is his incredible knowledge of hockey, his press box antics, and, most importantly, the passion he brought to the game. The hockey community lost a great member whose flamboyant personality will be missed by many.

When dividing the league into both conferences, in my opinion the Eastern Conference is once again proving to be full of talent. Many of the strong teams are expected to do well, and are proving the public right, such as Chicago andMiamiwho seem unstoppable.  MVP Derrick Rose is not putting up dominant scores every night, but is still proving to be unstoppable when he desires to be.Miamientered the season with last year’s devastating loss in the finals to the Dallas Mavericks still present in their minds, and demonstrated the talent of the team which got them to the finals in the first place, rather than the team who played there. Following those two teams are thePhiladelphia76ers, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magics.

As far as the western Conference goes, there is one team which seem more dominant in comparison to the others, and that is the young and exceptionally talented Oklahoma City Thunder. With the NBA’s two year leading scorer Kevin Durant still improving and many other young talented players in his supporting cast, the team is looking like a possible candidate to go the whole way. The next in line are the L.A Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs each with impressive records so far.

Although the NBA season has been shortened, there will be plenty of games to watch. In the upcoming months with the hectic schedules the NBA has prepared, there will be games every night of the week for those true fanatics. Even though the season was late to begin I am glad it did and I must admit it was one of the better Christmas days I’ve had in years. Now I just need the Celtics to pick their game up and all will be well…. LET’S GO BOSTON

So, what’s the next move for the Canadiens now that they have traded away their best offensive weapon?

Based on Pierre Gauthier’s post-game comments, it seems likeMontrealis going to be a big seller come the trade deadline. To refresh your memory, Gauthier basically said that unless the team starts winning, people should expect more heads to roll. And despite what everyone in the organization is saying, Cammalleri’s comments about how the team consists of a bunch of losers made him the first victim. But why trade away the only guy not afraid to call it like it is (let’s be honest, the Habs suck this year) and who is trying to fire his team up? The message that the executives are sending the players is: “Don’t be passionate, don’t try to win, and just be quiet.”

Now, it probably is not all Gauthier’s fault. Geoff Molson is a very involved owner and does not want a stinker for a team on his hands. Molson apparently had a hand in the trade, applying pressure to Gauthier to get a deal done, and this was probably the best that the GM could find. But unless that second-round pick turns out to be the next Chris Getzlaf, the Canadiens got shanked on that deal.

On the bright-side, the Habs are probably going to get a top-ten pick this year! Now let’s just hope that Gauthier doesn’t pull a Caron…

East Preview:

Winnipeg’s home crowd at CanadInns Stadium will be ready and roaring come Sunday. This will be the first Conference final to be hosted by Winnipeg since 2007, a year that saw them lose in the Grey Cup final. Hoping for history not to repeat itself, and led by the self proclaimed swaggerville defence and a fleet footed quarterback Buck Pierce, the Blue Bombers will have to score early and often to keep a high scoring Ti-Cats offence, led by quarterback Kevin Glenn and running back Avon Cobourne at bay.

Players to watch

Winnipeg:

Buck Pierce -QB- DNP in week 17, had a semi-final bye week, but needs to come out strong and use his ability to scramble for the offence in order for success.

Corey Watson -WR- semi final bye week, but went for 4 catches and 36 yards in week 19, and so the former Concordia star needs to have a big game.

Hamilton:

Avon Cobourne -RB- East semi-final rushed for 97 yards on 14 tries with a TD, but must have another strong rushing performance

Jamall Johnson -LB- East semi-final came back from injury and was a force, 6 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1int, and 1 forced fumble, so anticipate the CFL all-star to continue with his stellar play.

Geoff’s prediction: Swaggerville defence is too much for Hamilton, and so it will be the Blue Bombers to the Grey Cup.

West Preview:

The Edmonton Eskimos travel to Vancouver to play the BC Lions in the Sunday night western conference final matchup. Both teams have had no trouble finding the end zone in their last outings with Edmonton, posting 33 points against Calgary in the east semi-final, and BC scored 49 in week 19 against Montreal. Look for the defence of both teams to be the deciding factor, combined with a few special teams plays. 5 former Bishop’s Gaiters will be in action in this match up. Shawn Gore, James Yurichuk, Jamall Lee, Dan McCullough and Tim Cronk all look to make an impact on the BC roster this week.

Players to watch

Edmonton:

Hugh Charles -RB- replacing the injured CFL all-star Jerome Messam, who is out with a season ending knee injury.

Rod Williams -CB- must keep the Lions receivers in check, had 1 int in semi-final last week vs. Calgary.

BC Lions:

Travis Lulay -QB- after a week off must show that his 4td performance vs. Montreal in week 19 is his regular game.

James Yurichuk -LB- Special teams demon, rotational linebacker, look for him to force a fumble or make a play on specials

Geoff’s prediction: Lions offence strikes early, Eskimos mount a comeback, however too little too late. Lions to the Grey Cup at home!

When Coach Leroy Blugh suddenly announced his departure from the Bishop’s Gaiters football program last year towards the end of the semester, nobody knew who would replace him. Luckily for the program, they did not have to look any further then one of the team’s long time staff members, and the school’s athletic director, Tony Adonna. Having had previous experience as a head coach, Tony Adonna had no fear accepting the responsibility.

It seems as though whenever the Bishop’s Gaiters have needed assistance in the past, especially on offence, they have always been able to find the man for the job in Adonna. In the past Tony has taken on the responsibilities of Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line Coach and now to add to the resume, Head Coach. I have personally had the opportunity to be coached by him in my first year as a university athlete, and I can tell you first hand that he knows very much what he’s doing, and how to deal with football players and earn their respect. I had the chance to have a chat with him last week to get his thoughts on the season, and the team’s performance.

Q: How did it feel to be able to fill the position of head coach once again?

A: “It was enjoyable to be in that spot, I enjoyed being Interim Head Coach. It brought back memories of when I was head coach at Champlain, and I did that for a long time. I felt privileged and honoured to be able to lead the Gaiters. I also enjoyed working with our staff as well; they are a bunch of great individuals. They put in a lot of time and effort and overall it was a good experience.”

Q: Would it interest you to remain as head coach for maybe another year after seeing the good job you did the past season with the team?

A: “No, I wouldn’t be interested. There is already too much work to be done here as an athletic director. I look back at a few occasions and wish I could of done things a little better, but unfortunately could not because of time commitment. As an individual I don’t think I did as good of a job as I think I could have done.”

Q: Did you notice any difference being a head coach this time around compared to when you last owned that title?

A: “No, I did not really notice a difference; student athletes are student athletes. I don’t think they’ve changed a whole bunch, they are still athletes that want to succeed and put in work to get an opportunity to play and compete.”

Q:  How would you say the team did this season with a new head coach and the loss of some key players?

A: “Overall I was quite happy with the results. It is obvious I would have liked to have been in the playoffs, as I believe we all would have. I think in some ways we have ourselves to blame in some situations, such as at the beginning of the year when we had a couple of games we could have won but failed to do so. We did not miss many opportunities but we missed some.  A prime example of this would have been the first game when there were approximately 177 yards in penalties and we failed to win, which could have possibly helped us with a playoff spot if we played more disciplined. We missed some opportunities to score when we could have. I thought the defence played really well and kept us in games, but unfortunately we couldn’t get it done in some crucial times.”

Q: Are there any players in particular that you think truly stepped up this year to make it easier for you and the rest of the staff?

A: “Guys like Harrison Maloney did a good job stepping up this year, but also a player that truly stepped up was O’shane Daley. One of our fears was that we had lost Jermaine Gabriel and our safety position was open.  We were extremely impressed with the way he stepped up and did a good job filling that spot. Another player who improved in the secondary was Ryland Smith, who really proved himself and was outstanding. Tyler Jutras played as his steady self and once again played great and did a good job. The defence played exceptionally, considering they kept us in many games and were on the field the majority of the time.  On offense the emergence of Jordan was great. Alex Fox performed very well throughout the season and made some plays, as well as receivers David Hadrall, Steven Turner and Geoff Coventry.”

Q: As far as the off-season goes, has there been any talk of new additions to the coaching staff at all or is there anyone in mind?

A: “No talk yet, but the head football coach spot has been posted. We are accepting applications until the 23rd of November. Then some selections will go through our selection committee. From there on we will interview, and hopefully be able to announce a new head coach before we leave for Christmas break.”

On a concluding note to the season there are not too many negative things to say about the Gaiters performances on the field and sidelines. They put in much more effort than the fans did. It was without a doubt the most embarrassing display of school spirit in all of my four years that I have been a student here. If they would have stepped up as much as interim head coach Tony Adonna and the players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball did, it may have been a very different outcome to the season. None the less, a round of applause goes out to Tony for stepping up when needed and best of luck to the Gaiters on filling that head coach spot for next season.

I have played lacrosse for Bishop’s for five seasons.  Over the past week and a half, I have been blown away by the support we have received.  In case you hadn’t heard, we won a national championship titled the “Baggataway Cup.”  This is surely something we as a group are proud of.  For years we have been a successful program, as our record speaks for itself.  However, up until now we were never able to get over the mountain.  This year, we finally made it.  While it makes us proud and happy to be on a championship team, I speak for everyone on our team when I say the support we have received from the Bishop’s community means so much to us.  Honestly, our team could not have achieved what we have without all the support and help we have received along the way.

To the parents who helped us by allowing us to billet at their homes during road trips, when we couldn’t afford a hotel for the whole team. To the parents who whipped up amazing meals, often at their expense, does not go unnoticed by our team.  Parents who brought food for post-game recovery or even went out of their way to have team barbecues or full thanksgiving dinners made those long trips much easier.

To the students, who made the ten hour trip to London and other road games, you could not be more a part of our success.  It is truly much easier to win a championship when you’re ten hours away from home, and yet you still get to the field, and your fan support outweighs the opponent’s by triple digits.  To everyone that made the trip, be it parents, brothers, sisters, or friends—you made us so proud and honoured to be playing on the field.  One of the guys on our team said after the game, “We truly have the best friends in the world.”  This is absolutely true.

Our therapists, who worked selflessly from day one to help us and our bodies recover also played a key role in our win and deserve much thanks.  Julie Beausejour and Jessica MacDonald stayed up until 2:30am some mornings and got up at 8am every day at the national tournament in order to keep us feeling good, or at least as good as we could.  Without them we may not have had the push and energy to get over the top.

Lastly, we as a team want to thank the Bishop’s University administration, the athletic department, the plex staff, our professors and principal for the unbelievable show of support since we have come home.  We did not expect a parade or a party at the Gait.  We did not expect professors and people we have never met to say a quick “congrats” on the street.  We certainly did not expect to be introduced in front of hundreds of screaming fans at the basketball game. We didn’t realize that the school and the student community would treat us so well. We could not be more thankful.

In the end, we wanted this championship as a group for the guys in the locker room.  We worked hard for years to achieve this.  However, we want you to know; we worked hard and won this championship for Bishop’s University.  The “Gaiters” have many teams, for men and women.  In this case, we are aware the lacrosse team won the championship, but we’d like to dedicate it to the other athletes at our school.  It does not go unnoticed how much support we get from other teams.  We wanted this championship for you basketball players, football players, soccer players, golfers and rugby players.  We have all worked so hard for the purple we wear during games, and, quite frankly, this win is for you too!

For years, our team has lived and died by the saying “one love.”  This was brought on because of how close we are on and off the field, and because we strive to play for the better of our group, as one unit.  In this case, we chant as loud as we can, for every student, athlete, administrative person, parent, friend and anyone I could have missed; ONE LOVE!